good morning, breaking news. the space shuttle "atlantis" touches down in florida, the final mission for the shuttle program. >> fired the imagination of a generation, a ship like no other, its place in history secured, the space shuttle pulls into port for the last time. >> stunning images, strong emotions, and questions. what is the future for manned space flight in the united states? going to extremes. that dangerous heat wave keeping the nation in its grip. 32 states under a heat advisory, triple-digit temperatures. in some places, it will feel like 115 degrees. al's tracking it all. and lost hope -- family members of those three

hikers swept over a yosemite water fall are distraught. >> he was just one of those people where he really didn't deserve it. >> park rangers have called off the search today, thursday, july 21, 2011. captions paid for by nbc-universal television and good morning. welcome to "today" on a thursday morning. i'm matt lauer. >> i'm savannah guthrie in for ann today. you had to have a lump in your throat when the space shuttle "atlantis" touched down today for a final time. >> i got all choked up. that stunning image. 30 years, 135 missions, the end of an era. during the landing, you could hear the emotion and the voices of some of the people in mission control. and in the shuttle commander's

voice, that was christopher ferguson. we're going to have more on the landing and the future of the space program in a little while. a big scare in north carolina's outer banks. a 6-year-old girl attacked by a shark in a foot and a half of water. her mother was just a few feet away. luckily, this little girl survived. we're going to be there live in just a little while. plus, important health advise for women, new recommendation on when and how often you should get a mammogram. it's confusing. it contradicts another recommendation that came out a year and a half ago. what are women to do. dr. nancy schneiderman will be here to sort it out. let's begin with the dramatic end to the shuttle program this morning. tom costello is at the kennedy space center. you had a front row seat, what was it like? >> it was a dramatic and emotional day here. and now it's over. the space shuttle program ongoing for 30 years since '81

is now in the history books. "atlantis" came down at 5:37 eastern time. "atlantis" tracked 307 days in orbit. it came to rest on runway 1-5. the sights and sounds as "atlantis" came in for a landing. >> landing gear down and locked. having fired the imagination of a generation, a ship like no other, its place in history secured, the space shuttle pulls into port for the last time, its voyage at an end. >> houston, after serving the world for over 30 years, the space shuttle earned its place in history. it's come to a final stop. >> we copy stop and we take this

opportunity to congratulate you, "atlantis" and the passionate individuals across this great space-faring nation who empowered this spacecraft which for three decades inspired millions around the globe. job well done, america. >> thanks. great work. great work. you know, the space shuttle is the way we view the world and changed the way we view our universe. a lot of emotion today, one thing indisputable, merge is not going to stop exploring. "challenger," "discovery," "endeavour" and "atlantis," thank you for protecting us and bringing this program to an end. god bless all of you, god bless the united states of america. >> that's commander chris ferguson, the commander of the four-crew member team that led "atlantis" on a 12-day mission to supply the space station with a year's worth of supplies. in all, for 30 years, the crews

of the various shuttle missions have tracked 541 million miles, more than 21,000 orbits of the earth. 37 trips to the international space station. and this today was the 78th landing at the kennedy space center here in florida. back to you. >> congratulations to all of those people who have been involved in the three decades, tom. nice work this morning. we appreciate it. great images. >> yeah. thanks very much. five minutes after the hour. here's savannah. thank you. now to that dangerous heat wave blanketing much of the nation. more than 100 million people caught in its grips. nbc's kevin tibbles is on the heat beat for us this morning from chicago. ken, good morning. >> reporter: savannah, it's like living in a glass furnace. it's hot, stifling, suffocating, and it is also very dangerous, already being blamed for more than 20 deaths and it doesn't seem to be going anywhere. beating the heat or at least

trying to in columbus, ohio. as much of the country sizzles in the sun. >> i'm trying my best to beat the heat, man, but it's -- it's outrageous right now. >> try to stay inside if you can. if you're outside, stay in the shade and get in the water. >> reporter: more than 141 million americans are suffering under this oppressive dome of heat that is covering more than 1 million square miles. much of the nation has been turned into a convection oven, from times square in new york, to target field in minneapolis where baseball fans did their best to stay cool. this heat wave is also deadly. and emergency rooms across the country prepare for heat-related illnesses. >> stay cool, try not to be too active or out in the sun during the daytime. >> triple-digit temperatures in the south are creating big problems for livestock and crops. even in bismarck, north dakota, famous for its winters, it's 95 degrees. >> it's very, very, very hot. >> reporter: it was only six

short months ago chicago wans looked like this, braving the midwest blizzard. now everybody just about everywhere is complaining about the heat. >> lot better than a blizzard, but still not good. >> how hot is it? hot enough for cookies to bake on the car dashboard. >> they're too hot to eat right now. >> reporter: no one is venturing out for ice cream. >> too hot for the people to come out. >> reporter: but the animals were loving the giant pop sickles they were given to chill. and, guys, let's just hope that al can tell us that there is some relief in sight. everyone is trying to find ways to escape from this heat, including chicago's newest resident, a 26-foot-high statue of marilyn monroe. now, we all know that this is from the film, "the seven-year itch." but i'd like to suggest today it's also from "some like it hot." matt, savannah, back to you. >> nice job there, kevin. too hot for ice cream?

it doesn't sound possible. let's go outside. al roker is there. >> yeah, al, is there any relief in sight? >> eventually we are looking for some relief for some of us, but not all of us. 32 states, heat watches, warnings, and advisories. look at the temperatures we're going to be looking at. air temperatures, 97 in cleveland, 95 in chicago. 101 air temperature in st. louis. oh 102 in tulsa. raleigh will see triple digits. factor in the heat, here's where it's dangerous. syracuse, 107 degrees, 102 in cleveland, 103 in chicago. here's what we look for as far as the setup. the big heat dome we're talking about. a little cooler. the frontal system is making its way to the midwest. temperatures in the 80s up through the dakotas, on to minnesota. parts of wisconsin. as we move on in to sunday/monday, that system slides south so we have more seasonable temperatures from the great lakes to the northeast. take a look. the southwest, the gulf coast,

the mid atlantic states down to the southeast, you're going to continue to bake. no relief in sight for you. matt? thank you very much. we preevt appreciate it. we'll get the rest of the forecast in a couple of minutes. in washington, the temperature will soar today. this as talks heat up on finding ways to raise the debt cerealing with the deadline tendais days . chuck todd is the politico correspondent and director. good morning to you. >> good morning. >> we listened to the president that he had separate meetings at the white house. democrats, republicans. the image that comes to my mind is divide and conquer. any progress at all? >> it depend on how you define progress. in many ways we're in the same place we were two months ago, three months ago, four months ago. no one has a plan to get through the republican-controlled house of representatives. not president obama, not speaker of the house john boehner, and

not mitch mcconnell and harry reid. that's the issue. house republicans don't like any of these ideas that are coming out of the senate, whether it's this gang of six, big deal idea, or the backroom legislative gymnastic idea that mitch mcconnell has put together. in fact, they hate that idea so much that if there's one piece of optimism here, matt, is that got them to decide, you know what? we're better off dealing directly with president obama. >> the reid-mcconnell plan, 780 house republicans got together, they signed a letter to boehner and cantor saying they don't like this deal at all. they're circulating the letter trying to get more signatures. which brings the question up. if we get to the august 2 deadline with no larger deal, the reid-mcconnell plan had been considered the fallback, the safety net. is that now dead? >> well, no. but it could be this -- it may be that house republicans won't vote for it the first time. i've had many republican members

tell me this, matt, which is the likelihood that we're going to see some sort of t.a.r.p.-like moment, back in september of 2008 where the house voted down the big bailout of the banks, the markets reacted and then congress voted again. i'm hearing more and more that might be the only way something gets thu house. now, under that circumstance, it actually probably would lead to the bigger deal after the near catastrophic financial reaction. >> let me explain one thing in the last few seconds, if you will, the white house suggested yesterday that the president might be in agreement with a short-term raising of the debt ceiling if he thought the larger plan was in the work. we have not heard that from the president's lips yet. is it an opposition? oh. >> it has to be if he wants it bigger deal. the president wants one badly. he's winning politically short term right now. he knows he'll lose politically if he doesn't get a bigger deal. he's trying to buy time, matt.

>> chuck todd at the white house this morning. as always, thank you very much. >> 11 after the hour, here's savannah. it has tempers flaring, and a tiff between two congressmen in florida has turned very personal. kelly o'donnell is on capitol hill this morning. good morning. it started with a slow burn, a disagreement over the debt and it caught fire quickly. many democrats are asking a republican congressman to apologize. hi office said, no apology needed and that it was the democrats that went too far. >> a florida feud. two members of the house in a debt limit duel that got personal. congresswoman betty wassermann schultz was also the chair of the democratic national committee and a tea party star. congressman allen west, a freshman republican who hit "send" on a nasty e-mail to wassermann schultz.

>> reporter: and there's more. but first, here's what set him off. tuesday, west spoke in favor of the republicans' debt-cutting bill. then wassermann schultz got up and accused him of betraying senators. >> the gentleman from florida who represents thousands of medicare beneficiaries as do i, is in support of the plan that would increase costs of medicare beneficiarie beneficiaries, unbelievable. >> when a blistering e-mail told wassermann schultz to shut the heck up and hit a nerve with this -- you have proven repeatedly that you are not a lady, therefore shall not be afforded due respect from me. democratic congresswomen accuse west of sexual harassment. >> once again, we have been told that in order to be a lady, we need to stay in our places. >> in any other employment environment, he would be subject to a sexual harassment claim for creating a hostile work environment. >> in a statement to nbc news, his office said, congressman

west does not hate women as the husband and father of two daughters. west declined the request, but in an interview with fox said liberals want to play victim. she's not a victim. she's been attacking allen west for quite sometime. in that interview, the congressman complained of a double standard, saying in the past, he's been attacked with racially charged words like, quote, uncle tom, sellout, and oreo. west, one of only two african-american house republicans began the speech that started this tuesday pointing out that a democrat confused him. >> i see the gentleman from south carolina. >> with south carolina republican tim scott. >> i'm not from south carolina, i'm from florida. that's okay. i'm the guy with hair. >> for her part, wassermann-schultz said the e-mails does not blame her and blamed republican policy. >> it's not surprising he cracked under the pressure of having to defend that. >> she makes one more point,

florida does not require congressmen to reside in their districts. allen west does not live in his. he lives nearby in her district. >> as a constituent of mine. >> he lives in your district? >> he lives in my district. >> and in that statement from congressman west's office to nbc, he points out he complained to leaders in both parties of wassermann schultz. leaders aren't talking about this. democrats and the congressman from florida, congressman west are using this incident to try to raise campaign cash, savannah? oh. >> kelly o'donnell on the hill for us this morning. thank you. let's swing over to natalie at the newsdesk this morning. handled a special report on the landing of "atlantis" this morning. you got choked up. >> i did. as little kids, we looked at the shuttle flights and dreamed of some day, and especially seeing a lot of women become astronauts. it was a special moment for me. it was great. in the news this morning, news corp. executive rupert

murdoch is back in the u.s. as his phone hacking scandal widens. martin fletcher has the latest from london. martin? good morning. after the high drama of the past week here, today, media, police, government, are all licking their wounds while promising to find out who knew what and when. while rupert murdoch is assessing the damage to his empire. murdoch looked happy to be hope after tuesday's grilling by parliament members. a new york welcome. >> welcome home. >> nice life. >> the slap heard across the world as for britain's parliament, the getting to the bottom of the phone hacking scandal, they've gone on summer recess. but it isn't over for rupert murdoch by a long shot. >> the long-term effects are difficult to see, mistakes were made. it cost him a lot of money.

>> reporter: it may cost hem a lot more. the biggest pension fund in the u.s. called for a reform of news corp. but their support from the biggest inside investor, a saudi prince, who owns 7% of news corp. he said the company remaybes, get, a valuable and long-term investment. as to the glimpse to the murdoch marriage provided by the leak, a interview on chinese tv revealed more on how they met. >> she interpreted more for me as we went around china. who wouldn't fall in love with a beautiful woman like that. >> murdoch's marriage grabbed the headline but no one is under any illusion that the substance hasn't changed. the empire is threatened by the deepening british investigation. natalie? >> just the beginning of all of the questions. martin fletcher in lob dndon fo us, thank you. the tsa is installing new

technology in 40 airports around the country. when travelers pass through security, the generic body outline will be shown instead of the image of a naked body that had many outraged. hurricane dora is picking up steam, turning off of the coast of mexico. dora could bring life-threatening waves and rip tides but will not make landfall. no atlantic hurricanes yet this season. mandy drew joins us at the new york stock exchange. good morning. >> it might be hot outside. weak economic data from both china and the european area overnight giving global investors it chills. if you're holding technology stocks, listen up to this. we got information from both mobile phone network equipment maker ericsson and chip maker, intel, and they were warning and giving the market information they didn't want to hear. intel's case, warning of softened demand.

we'll have a second bailout deal for greece and whether or not the european policy makers can contain the debt crisis from spreading further around the european zone. back to you. >> mandy, thank you. shocking images from india this morning. a leopard pouncing, fangs bared, on to a man's back. the snarling feline mauled 11 people in a west bengal village sending forestry officials running for their lives. six people are recovering after their injuries after a terrifying standoff could police tranquilize the animal and it died soon after that. matt, savannah, they say in india the leopards are protected but they had a problem of encroaching more and more on villages looking for food. that's a big problem. >> thank,

>> we are definitely dealing with the high heat and humidity all across the area today. opera 90's. with humidity, it could feel like 110. and that's your latest weather. matt? al, thank you very much. hope is all but lost today at finding three hikers alive who were swept over a water fall at california's yosemite national park. nbc's george lewis is there.

george, good morning to you. good morning, matt. it was a traumatic experience for family members and friends watching the three victims slip into the waterfall and down to the rapids below. >> reporter: park officials say it was a tragic chain reaction. a dozen or so people had entered the river above vernal familiars posing for pictures. denise garcia watched it unfold. >> they started jumping from rock to rock. when the guide jumped from one rock to the other rock, he slipped. he slipped on one side going down. then the girl, he started slipping. so the guy that was taking the pictures put the camera down and went after them and they all three went over the water fall. >> to go over the precipice of vernal fall is not survivable. and so they are presumed dead at this time. we have not recovered their bodies. >> and it's unlikely the bodies will be recovered for sometime as the rushing water fed by heavy snow runoff is simply too dangerous for search and rescue

divers. the victims have been identified as 22-year-old david, 21-year-old ramina nadal, and 27-year-old yaku. in the central california town wednesday night, a prayer service honoring the young victims. two of ninos yakub's couns remember him fondly. >> he didn't deserve it. the family didn't deserve it. his parents -- nobody -- had a love for him that's so stock too. it's somebody that we need him on this earth. >> he holds our family together. he's our rock, our angel. he's our angel. >> 1500 people a day make the hike above vernal fall. the area is well posted with warnings. >> this area is enclosed. there are signs posted saying,

hey, it's dangerous, the water is swift. don't go over here. there's no ranger up there telling people they're not allowed to go over to that area. >> so far this year, six people have died in drowning accidents in yosemite. >> park rangers are telling us it could be september before the waters have receded enough so that the bodies can be found. matt? >> george lewis in california this morning. george, thank you very much. coming up, a 6-year-old girl attacked by a shark in a foot and a half of water. the latest on that story and much more ahead. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

hello parents, it's going to be a big school year. your kids are going to climb rope. they're going to have a year long tug war with the ceiling.

and by the time they get out of 8th grade, they're going to do it with sweat on their brow and achievement in their hearts. so, this is what they're gonna need: running shoes, t-shirts, tube socks, fruit cups, cheese sticks, energy bars, rope climbing gloves, rope burn ointment, and a jump drive. not sure what that is, but they're gonna be jumpin'. school takes a lot. target has it all. >> coming up, "till death do they part," why more and more couples are saying no to divorce. and new guidelines on who should get mammograms and when. but this is changing. the latest after your local news and weather.

>> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am stan stovall. time for a check on the morning. . -- morning commute. early problems. >> i have to give it to my favorite facebooker, betsy, who said that 95 is a hot mass this morning -- hot mess this

morning. we have an accident at 95 merge. it is causing delays. bradford street closed from lafayette to lanvale. that is due to fire activity. gates are stuck in the down position. second street, accident coming in to us. down balls at woodbine road -- downed pole at woodbine road. side, but normal delays on the outer loop. 895, there is the accident at the merge. it is definitely causing the backup. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. >> stan stepped outside during the bright and he said how thick the atmosphere is right now and he walked back in a hot mess. stan, pull yourself together. extreme temperatures, extreme humidity. upper 90s this afternoon.

tomorrow, at 99 on saturday. we do expect a chance for a storm tomorrow, very isolated in nature. really it is mostly sunny and unbelievably uncomfortable these next couple of days. >> by the way, i am always a hot mess even in winter. check the bottom of your screen for updated news and traffic information. back in 25 minutes with another live update.

7:30 now ona -- on a thursday morning, july 21, 2011. the big apple is going to turn into the baked apple today with temperatures in the mid 90s. >> sorry, forgot to laugh. >> the index probably greater than that. some ways to beat the heat coming up. inside studio 1-a where it's a lot cooler than it is outside, matt lauer with savannah guthrie. ann is off today. two conflicting studies on women's health. >> when and how often women should get mammograms. this morning, the latest

recommendations. plus why c-sections are at the highest rate ever. >> all right. >> then, let's stay together. divorce rates are dropping these days. why more and more couples are deciding to keep their vows, stay together even in the tough times. and how to stay safe when you're doing the home improvement projects, good advice. >> it's important. let's begin with a story out of north carolina where a young girl was attacked by a shark in a foot and a half of water. lulia luciano is in greenville, north carolina with the latest on that. good morning to you. good morning to you, matt. what started out as a perfect family day at the beach turned dangerous. now that little girl is trying to survive that terrible attack. >> reporter: the 6-year-old girl was swimming with her family at 5:30 tuesday evening. she was boogie boarding in a foot and a half of water, her mother ten feet away when witnesses say the shark struck, seriously wounding her right

leg. witnesses here are still reeling from the attack. >> i really want to know that she's okay. i did not like what i saw. it really tore me up. >>. >> reporter: in a statement, her family asked for privacy saying that the 6-year-old is in good condition and good spirits quoting her as saying, i hate sharks, i like dolphins way better. with warm water temperatures, experts say shark sightings are not uncommon. area beaches remain open, beachgoers are on high alert. >> keep the kids out of the water in the morning and in the evening. >> i feel sorry for her and i hope that i don't get bit. >> the shark attack is the second in the waters of north carolina in less than a month. >> it hurt. >> reporter: 10-year-old cassidy cartwright was bit by a shark twice in the leg. she was also in shallow water. >> and i found out that it wasn't. it pulled me down again. >> reporter: most attacks happened close to shore where sharks like to feed. >> listen to the local experts.

if there have been a lot of shark sightings, that's probably a good sign that you need to respect these waters and these incredible creatures that live here. >> reporter: across the u.s. this year, there have been 15 reported shark attacks, among them, 12-year-old nicholas who this month survived when a bull shark bit him in texas. >> we were swimming in the surf, you know, just having a good time in waist-deep water and a shark came up and bit my foot. >> and while shark attacks are extremely rare, experts urge swimmers to stay away from the water during dusk and dawn since some sharks are most active during those times, to swim in groups, and not to venture away from the shore, matt? >> sounds like good advice. lilla luciano in greenville, thank you so much. the latest on the hot country grippicount -- weather in the country.

>> what's the name of your group? >> where are you from? >> huntington, west virginia. >> nice cool shirts, makes you look cool at least. mild in the northeast, mild through the northwest. sizzling in much of the country with a risk of strong storms in the upper ohio river valley. sunday, sunday -- sunny, warm here in the northeast. look for rain in the mid ohio river valley. but the rest of the country is hot. mild conditions and sunshine. perfect in the pacific >> we are trying to see cool spots today is the heat and humidity comes on in. eyes and in mid-to-upper- nineties.

and that's your latest weather. if you need extra weather any time of the day or night, go to weather channel on cable or weather.com on-line. now the case of the disturbing murder case in florida where a teen is accused of killing his parents and throwing a party at his home while their bodies lay inside. his best friend is speaking out about finding their bodies. mark potter is in port st. lucie, florida with the latest. good morning. >> good morning to you, savannah. prosecutors say they will seek first degree murder charges against tyler hadley who live in the house behind me. and already there's a witness in the case, an important witness, another teen who was a close friend. >> reporter: at the party on the same day police say 17-year-old tyler hadley on the right murdered his parents with a hammer, his close friend, michael mandell on the left said he took this picture in hadley's home. mandell tipped them off to the

murder. he told the station in west palm beach, florida hadley confessed to him about killing his father, blake hadley and his mother, mary jo hadley. >> after he told me, i didn't believe him. he'd been my best friend forever. he said if i looked i could see signs. i looked on the floor, i could see blood and that's when i went around back and looked in his parents' bedroom. >> that bedroom is where they found the body covered with furniture, and bloody towels. >> there seems to be head trauma and torso trauma. >> as the door opened, there was a large amount of blood and blood stains on the bedroom floor and sheets. mandell said that's what he saw. >> i saw bloody sheets piled everywhere. i saw broken pictures with blood on them. and i looked down and saw his dad's leg. >> reporter: mandell identified as mm told police on saturday that he stated he was going to kill his parents. m.m. did not take him seriously.

the report says at a party at hadley's house later that night, tyler also told m.m. that he stood behind his mother while she was sitting at the computer and thought about killing her for five minutes. then he decided to strike his mother in the head with a hammer. when he began hitting her, she screamed and turned around and asked tyler hadley, why? the report says hadley then killed his father and took three hours to clean up all of the blood, saying it was more than he had expected. now police say mandell told them that hadley planned to kill himself before he was arrested. police say when they got to the house, hadley appeared frantic. he has now entered a plea of not guilty. the public defender said it's too early in the case for him to make a public comment. savannah? >> mark potter in port st. lucie this morning, thank you. easy ways to keep cool in the summer heat. but then, a report about women and when you should be getting a mammogram after this.

>> back now at 7:41. this morning on "today's health," the fight against breast cancer. a top group of obgyns released a report that said women need to get mammograms much earlier than the government recommends. dr. nancy schneiderman is here to talk about that and a record rise in c sections in this country. good morning. >> good morning, savannah. >> start on the issue of

mammograms. forgive us all nondoctors for being confused. we were told you don't need to get the mammograms until 50. now they say get them every year at 40. >> if you think you're confused, you ear not alone. women who are physicians are just as confused. what you're looking at is frankly a little bit of politics, a little different way of looking at science. a year ago, the u.s. preventive task force came out and said there's no data that screening women before the age of 50 was live. there was a hubbub, but there was data. they crunched the numbers on saving lives. today the gynecologists have come out and said, no, you have to screen by the age of 40. the 40 to 50-year age group, what does it mean? >> what should women do if you are in that age group? >> we have to remember it's not one size fits all. the problem with women before the age of 50 is that ma' mammography is not so great for screening the breast cancer.

the breast is denser because estrogen levels haven't dropped. finding them isn't easy. there are more false positives. we're not sure if you find a tumor at the age of 40 it was going to be one of the bad actors that really is a killer. it could be a tumor that puts along or goes away. >> is it a case where you have some of the risk factors and what are some of the people that people should watch for. >> preventive task force at least used science and data, even though people didn't like the message, they really crunched the numbers. the gynecologists are not breast cancer doctors, they're not surgeons, they're not radiologists, i want to separate those two things and tell women, if you have a family history, if you're a smoker, if you're obese, if you have any of the breast cancer genes, if you're concerned, if you have dense breasts and you think maybe i need an mri instead, individualize. but this really is a time for women to know that blanket recommendations right now should

be shoved aside. >> there's no one-size-fits-all. let's move on to the issue of c-sectionings. all-time high, 34% of births performs by a c-section. is this a concern? >> well, i don't like the trend. we know if you had a previous c-section, then you can safely, 99% of the time have a vaginal birth after c-section. >> most doctors think -- tell their patients if you have to have a c-section before, you have to have one the next time around. >> it's split. women are driving that conversation saying, well, i had a c-section once, i feel safer doing it that way. some women, frankly, don't like the idea of giving birth. they think a little incision, pop the baby out that way, it's easi easier. they schedule it that way. and this malpractice issue limit hovering over a lot of doctors with the idea of what could go wrong in a vaginal birth. now, here's why if you are pregnant a vaginal birth makes sense. when the baby passes through the

birth canal, the lungs gets squished and amniotic fluid gets pushed out. there's a real reason mother nature planned it that way. >> are people underestimating how safe it is. >> vaginal is safer most times than c-section. most of the time, do it the old-fashioned way, unless you're worried about a pre-existing risk factor. talk to your doctor. >> thank you. good to see you. >> you're welcome. still ahead, the divorce rate going down sharply. why? we'll get in to that. but first, these messages. 

when you think of libya, a war zone probably comes to mind. but nbc's chief foreign correspondent richard engel came across ancient ruins there that may take your breath away and may make you forget about the conflict for a little while. richard, good morning. glad to have you in new york. >> people think of libya, as you said, they think of gadhafi, the

war zone. there's a totally different libya. hundreds of miles of unspoiled mediterranean coast. an ancient city. we went to the city mention in the bible, many know it as the city of serene. it's under rebel control and for the first time, perhaps, it's accessible to visit. east of the rebel capital, benghazi, is the ancient city of serene. unesco called it one of the most impressive complexes of ruins in the entire world, with a forest of columns, temples, and a massive theater overlooking a long valley. 2,500 years ago, this was a flourishing greek city. it was called the athens of north africa. there was even a school here established by the student of sock are a t socrates. history moves on, it became a roman city, even the christians lived here. because of libya's modern

political isolation, there's been no excavation. and this becomes one of the best preserved classical helenistic sites outside of greece. details hint of what life was like here, a home to greek scholars and later a bread basket of the roman empire. it was rich with carpets of geometric mosaics and gracefully proportioned statues defaced by ic iconoclasts centuries ago, but now undisturbed. this is the fountain of apollo and the reason it was built here in the first place with the natural springs flowing from the cliff. and even today with the irrigation and layered pools and aqueducts pumping water throughout the city, still works. water traces through the canals in a steady stream, feeding wild fires that grow between the rocks. it's open to visitors, but few come. it's a rare joy to have an archaeological site almost to

yourself. some libyans come here to escape the war. yusuf, a pipe welder, brought his family to forget gadhafi and guns and fighting. >> translator: libya's culture belongs to the world. it should be open to tourists, to everyone. that's the image we want the world to have when they think of libya, he said -- a rich history, often overshadowed by war and dictatorship. libya is covered with ane except sites, so many, in fact, that there were accusations that gadhafi was hiding some of his weapons by ancient ruins so they wouldn't be bombed by nato. >> you did this story a couple of weeks ago, you were there. how easy is it to travel from one part of the country to another right now? >> completely easy. these areas are under rebel control. these rebels are pro-american. they're really pro-western. nato is trying to give them a country and topple gadhafi. so it's open. >> it's open. beautiful images too. richard, thank you very much.

nice change of pace as well. >> absolutely. coming up, easy and fun ways to keep cool in the brutal heat wave that about half of the country is experiencing. but first, we'll take a look at your local news and weather.

>> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am stan stovall. time for another check of the morning commute. here is sarah caldwell and traffic pulse 11. >> handful of problems this hour. philadelphia road and golden ring road, we have an accident coming in. six miles per hour out of the white marsh area. earlier accident at the split is gone, but we are looking at delays on the topside, and the west side even heavier. closed between the live beyond an austin because two csx trains

are stuck in that tunnel. tungsten street, another accident location. let's give you a quick live look outside. providence coming towards us, outer loop traffic. pretty heavy, but standard delays. live view of traffic, where we have an accident on the east side of the beltway. in a little past quarantine road. left side gets by only. >> we are still talking about the extreme heat and humidity. it could be dangerous into the afternoon. he'd warnings throughout the state along the eastern shore. the combination of the temperature and that humidity could feel like it is 115 this afternoon. heat advisory out across the western mountains. actual air temperatures will be near 100 this afternoon. friday and saturday as well.

>> cannot wait for the break in the heat. back in 25 minutes with another live update.

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8:00 now on a thursday morning. it's the 21st day of july, 2011. yes, we've done it a couple of times. it's a hot one here in new york city. going to get hotter this afternoon. and then hotter still by tomorrow. when c.lo green takes to the stage in the last half-hour. i think he's going to sing "crazy." we love him. he's going to be here tomorrow morning if you're in the area, come on down. meanwhile, i'm matt lauer along with savannah guthrie.

savannah is here and ann takes the day off. mr. roker joins us as well. coming up, talking about divorce. we talked about the divorce rate in this country being one in two, 50%. there's a trend that some of the children of those divorces are trying to do things differently in their own lives, sticking it out in their marriages, in some cases for their children. but, what is the impact on children when you hang in there, even if your marriage has trouble? we're going be talking about that. >> that's the issue. with the heat that's dripping more than 30 states. we can feel it out here this morning, we're going to have some great tips to help keep you cool. weather to what you're drinking and wearing. fun games for the kids to play. or, if you want to stay inside, keep the air conditioning whirring along. all right, and a little later on, bow to wow. some makeovers for deserving pooches. >> really cool dog. >> ah. >> before we get to them,

natalie has the headlines. goom, natalie. good morning, matt, savannah and al. more that 1.5 million americans have no relief in sight from the searing temperatures. the heat and humidity will make it feel like 110 to 115 degrees in some places. the recent heat wave is blamed for 20 deaths. heat advisories are in effect for 32 states. in minnesota, it was so hot, someone baked cookies on the dashboard of a car. looked like they were good. the end of an era. the final stop for the space shuttle program with the landing of "atlantis" this morning at the kennedy space center. after the program's final flight, thousands of people, including the shuttle workers about to be laid off were on hand for that landing. today the senate is expected to take up a house plan to increase the debt ceiling if congress adopts a balanced budget amendment. the bill would make debilitating cuts to medicare. the faa is facing a partial shutdown this weekend if the

house and senate cannot agree on a short-term extension of the operating authority. a deal is held up over disagreements over union rights and funding for rural airports. the faa says 4,000 workers could be furloughed on saturday. but airport screeners and safety inspectors will not be affected. brian williams with a look at what's coming up tonight on nbc "nightly news." brian? coming up tonight, tom brokaw has a story for us about a place he found in this country where folks are shopping for expensive cars and houses that are selling for more than the asking price. we'll take you where there's no signs of an economic crisis. that and more tonight for now, natalie, back to you. what's trending today. a quick roundup of what has you talking on-line. the blogosphere is marveling over pluto's fourth moon called p-4. it won't mean a promotion for pluto as you know was demoted from planet status to dwarf five

years ago. twitter fans are passing around this video of a manhole in montreal blowing the top on monday. the pressure from a foot of rainfall was strong enough to lift the backend of a car. and a foul ball left a young san francisco giants fan in a foul mood. the guy just in front of him there snagged the ball and adding insult to injury, he gave it to a girl. i think he was being a perfect gentleman. but, yeah, the little guy is not liking that too much. it's 8:04. back outside to al with a check of our weather for us. hey, al. >> thanks so much. a lot of good friends here. your sign said your mom neglected you? you would leave her alone when you watched the "today" show. >> not like you were raised by wolves. you look okay. mom did okay. let's check your weather and see what's happening. panama city, florida, news channel 7. isolated afternoon

thunderstorms, 92 degrees today. a lot of places are going to be hotter than it is in florida. strong storms moving in to iowa. we've got wet weather moving in to northern new england as well later today as the front drapes across there bringing a risk of strong storms. that slight risk of strong storms in the mid weps. the showers, hit or misses, another front moves through in the pacific northwest. dangerous heat, 32 states across the country and there's some kind of heat watch, advisory, or warning. >> the heat wave has arrived across maryland. look at these temperatures. upper 90s, near 100. could be dangerous for outdoor acti

we've got a nice breeze here. doesn't it feel good. everybody say, ah! savannah? >> ah. okay, thanks, al. sticking it out. more and more couples are deciding to stay together even through the tough times. we'll find out why after this. s. it all happened so fast. it was clearly too late for me to do anything as my mercedes collision system automatically kicked in. the next thing i know, the mercedes stopped itself. ♪ watching what mercedes has done in bringing together these sensors in a car with software that has the ability to save your life. that's magical software. [ male announcer ] the innovation, the engineering of mercedes-benz. the best or nothing. for febreze fabric refresher. they agreed. [ experimenter 1 ] relax, take some nice deep breaths. [ experimenter 2 ] what do you smell? lilac. clean. there's something that's really fresh. a little bit beach-y.

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drilling thousands of feet below fresh water sources within self contained well systems and using state of the art monitoring technologies, rigorous practices help ensure our operations are safe and clean for our communities and the environment we are america's natural gas. we're back now at 8:09 on marriage and divorce. divorce has been on the decline since the 1980s, especially among generation x. many genxors are sticking it out even in a tough relationship rather than calling it quits. the movies from the 1970s and '80s depicted the bitter divorce battles when the divorce rates in the u.s. reached their peak. >> i grew up in berkeley in the 1970s. my father was someone with whom

i was really really close as a kid had an affair and changed everything overnight. the way i found out, i was 12, my brother was 9. he came to the kitchen and just announced that he was leaving. and that was it. the whole family was annihilated just like that. >> for generation x born between 1965 and 1980, almost half come from divorced families according to u.s. census data. >> the '70s and '80s were, if you're unhappy, if you're not satisfied, you might think about leaving your marriage. >> that all changed when it came time for generation x to tie the knot and start their own families. >> in retrospect, i see now that i did almost everything in my life through my parents' divorce. i wanted to find not just a good

boyfriend. i wanted to find a soul mate, my best friend. i wanted to find somebody who would never leave me. >> according to a recent census report, three in four couples who married after 1990 celebrated a ten-year anniversary. >> people who are young adults now and grew up in a time of high divorce think to themselves, i don't want to do that again, i don't want to do that to my kids. that's a bad experience. i want to avoid it. >> making it harder for those who do end up divorced today, like susan. >> i got to meet the generation x parents who feel good about getting divorced. it was heart breaking. i can't say whether it's a good decision or a bad decision. it happened. >> susan gregory thomas is the author of "in spite of everything" and gary newman is a relationship expert and the author of "connect to love." good morning to both of you. nice to see you.

you were profoundly affected by your parents' divorce. you write in a book, as a mother, this became my fox hole prayer, please, please, whatever it is, do not let divorce happen to my children. a portrait of parents yelling, children numbly eating frozen pizzas in front of the tv. it had been scorched earth, a bomb. you did whatever you could to keep it from happening to you, didn't you? >> i did whatever i could. i thought i did whatever i could. it's important to me that i not repeat my parents' mistakes. and that meant working really, really hard to find a mate who was stable, who was kind, who was going to be a really good dad. >> but them you tried to stick it out despite the fact that problems arose. and even if you look at the title of your book, in spite of everything, you hear people say, stick it out, you know what? those words are depressing to me. because i think in some ways, people are surrendering their

happiness for the sake of not repeating a past problem. >> that's the big question -- should we stay in a miserable marriage for the sake of the children. that used to be, if i'm free, then everyone is going to be happy. nowadays the thought is, for your children, you work harder and harder at your marriage. you do everything possible and not give up in order to make it a satisfying marriage rather than get out. >> going back in time a little bit, susan, i was struck by something in the book -- you talk about the fact. i think you and your husband -- you knew each other for eight years or so before you got marry? >> we were living together for eight years. >> he was your best friend. i wonder if getting married to a best friend in some ways meant there wasn't the passion in the relationship that you probably needed to make the relationship work in the end? >> i think that hindsight is always 20/20. it turns out that most of generation x was together before getting -- getting married.

>> even though statistics say that's not the best thing. >> even though they say that. but i think for me, for a lot of us, we wanted to make sure that it was going to work so that when we finally made the commitment, it was going to be airtight. there was going to be no questions. but i think that you're right. i think that one of the issues is that the sexual revolution of the '70s. the women's liberation movement, even though i'm totally in support of it, as a child growing up is that era -- it was very scary. there was so much passion, this was so much sex. and for us, it felt scary and unsafe. >> what happens in a relationship, gary, when two people start to realize they're together only for the sake of not hurting their children, how does that damage their intimate relationship? >> they really start to break down and start going their separate ways. it's easy in life to get so stuck with stuff going on that we can lead parallel lives.

and if we pull our heads up out of the sand, eight, ten years later, we all of a sudden say we don't know how to do this anymore. it's that rhythm. it's really the antedote, to try to save your relationship. one of the things i learned in my relationship is with time, happier women were the ones who spent on average 30 minutes or more uninterrupted time with their spouse daily talking and chatting. >> is perhaps the real answer not sticking it out, but making a better divorce than the one you lived through? i know yours was a divorce that was much friendlier than the one your parents went through? >> well, it's not an oxymoron, anymore, a friendly divorce. i do think divorce is awful. i'm not going to say it's good. it's awful. but having had such a strong friendship when we parted ways, even though it was terrible, the friendship came back. and we have devoted to our

children. i know, again, that sounds hypocritical because we got divorced. we really talk on the phone every day about our kids. we make decisions jointly, even microdecisions. it's hilarious. we're the gen-x helicopter parents even though we're divorced. it doesn't stop fascinating con. we hope that the trend continues and the divorce rate declines. we hope it does it for the right reasons. thanks so much. susan, thanks. great to have you guys here. keeping cool in the sweltering heat. we'll get to that right after this. ♪ hey, i just finished painting in the kitchen. why is he still here? i think we should keep it. it speaks to me. [ voice ] don't paint me. yeah...no. he's gotta go. [ male announcer ] for quick, easy coverage, get glidden brilliance 2n1 paint and primer. performs like paint twice its price. plus other low prices every day on everything.

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food's rip is brought to you by mcdonald's, i'm loving it. this morning, on "today's whip," beating the heat. may be a scorcher outside. but we found great ways to chill out. >> four experts gathered this morning. first up, how to handle the heat in your own home. a today contributor and host of "open house." good to see you. let's stay cool. air conditioners have come a long way since i was a kid. technology is good on these things. >> if you have one, you have the right btus for your room. they say, i want the most btus, get my room as cold as possible. don't necessarily do that. lower btus for a smaller room or you're going to get a lot of condensati condensation.

you don't want direct sunlight. if at all possible. >> some people can't avoid that. >> you can keep it out and help the air conditioner work better. >> don't forget to change the filters. >> easy, right here, you want to clean them once a month. replace them once a year. >> not a bad idea. a lot of people look at fans as old school. used in conjunction with air conditioner can be effective. >> the best friend. if you put it on the other side of the room, it will create a draft. it spreads the cooler around, it creates as much energy. >> so you're using electricity, you're saving money on cooling your room. >> a bigger room, you want to get to a number of different rooms, it spreads the cold air to each room. >> we're talking about programmable thermostats. we've been singing their praises for a long time, why do you like them so much? >> they save energy. if you have them in your house, they keep the house cool when you're in there. they don't keep it that cool when nobody's there. it's wasting away. >> what do you expect to have to

invest in the thermostat. >> the thermostat doesn't cost much at all, under $50, $30. you'll save hundreds of dollars on your energy bill. >> thank you very much. nice to have you here. move over to savannah. >> nothing will cool you off like thirst-quenching cold drinks and treats. "woman's day" editor has some ideas. we need to stay hydrated in heat like this. >> you have to. when you're thirsty, it's too late. you have to keep drinking, you're sweating, losing water, you have to replenish that. >> unsweetened tea, unsweetened iced team is a good choice. it has caffeine to give you a boops. it's packed with anti-oxidants. we say unsweetened, sugar makes you thirstier. you get a dose of vitamin c. >> coconut water doesn't taste like coconut. >> the new new thing. it's packed with potassium and elect ro lites. you can never go wrong with water. >> great devices here. how did you make this?

>> this is the cover story for "woman's day," a watermelon, a cantalou cantaloupe, and honey dew. you puree it, freeze it, put it to a dish. it's a great alternative to a store-bought. >> not too much calories either. >> twist on our favorite, lemonade. >> we have the mint lemon splashy, a ginger lemonade. and we had a lemonade where you pur pur pureed strawberries. add water. it gives it a lift. it's a great refreshing drink. >> head over to al. thanks so much. toys and games. there are a lot of ways to keep the kids occupied using nice cool stuff. >> absolutely. this is the ultimate beach ball

sprinkler available from toys r us.com. go and play in this. wow. it's a cold blast right now. >> it's getting heavier and heavier water balloons. >> this is the nemesis -- can i grab this for a second. it's all in the wrist here. you're whacking it. >> got her here. >> going back to hallie. >> that's cool. these are from geiser guys. available at cvs stores all over the country. >> so you dunk it in water. >> go ahead. you get soaked. kids love that. >> supersoakers. >> grab one of these. >> yes. >> this is the thunderstorm. >> you say, you don't have to go to the store. >> and these you can take out and change and you don't need to put them in the water again. >> oh! nice! >> and then you can make your

own -- you can make your own slip and slide? >> super easy. start with this or any kind of plastic tarp. you need a sprinkler, baby oil, and you're good to go. >> wow, what a great idea. thanks so much. now let's go to -- to natalie. next is clothing to keep you cool. jill martin is here today. good morning. >> good morning. >> you found great active wear for the whole family to keep you whole. and also ups in it too? >> it's possible to look chic in the sweltering heat. start with the clothing. the fabrics have you treated with uv protection blocking up to 98% of the sun's raef. this is boating usa. the black uv. great for the hard-to-reach areas. these are great, you can put your cell phone and ipod and cover your hands. >> it's important to be covered

up. >> i wear them. they're thin and -- >> wicking as well. >> okay, so spanx. we swear by them. they have lighter, thinner options. >> every woman is cheering at home right now. look at the spanx, 50% thinner than regular. available at target. and look at this, you can see right through there. it provides that hugging in feeling. i can't believe i have to put on spanx in this heat. >> the shoes to keep your feet cool. >> alternative to sneakers. natural and breathable cotton. you can fold them down and wear them. look chic for women and men. great and breathable. great to walk in. >> hair to beat the heat and humidity, you love these? >> every girl in the office obsesses. these will not put a dent in your hair when you put your hair in a bun. they come in groovy patterns with the skulls and the heat signs. >> lock it up. >> i promise.

>> and hat, if these don't work, put on a hat. >> hat with the uv protection. >> excellent. >> and also protect as well. >> jill martin, thanks so much. coming up, >> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. time for a final check on the morning commute with sarah caldwell. >> kind of a busy ride out there, especially for motorists trying to get to the keybridge. accident on the inner loop at hawkins point road, taking up two right lanes. only the left lane is getting by. golden ring road, another accident location. holding on to the delays on southbound 95 out of white marsh. riverside parkway, we have an accident reported. delays on the north and west

side. you can see the yellow spots there. southbound woodbine road, closed at liberty road due to a downed pole at what kind. live view of a couple of spots starting with the topside at providence. outer loop traffic backed up, but it is improving. live view of the accident scene on the inner loop at hawkins point. going away from losses in early traffic. you, ava. >> it is disgusting out right now. humidity, 85%. we start with 100% humidity. we are expecting blazing sunshine throughout the day. the upper 90s, near 100 degrees. combination of heat and humidity, dangerous for outdoor activity in the afternoon. could feel as high as 115 degrees in some spots. excessive heat warning sports the eastern shore. stay cool today and check on your friends and family, to make a. they are doing ok and it is

horrible weather. >> we will have another update at 25 minutes.

thursday morning, 21st day of july, 2011. and take a look at some of the nice people out rockefeller plaza this morning beating the heat and enjoying this sunshine and some of us standing in soapy water here. not sure what's going on here. yeah. it's all right. a a little water fun never hurt

anybody. i'm matt lauer with savannah guthrie. ann is taking the day off. all roker and natalie morales joins us as well. coming up, do it yourself projects and we'll try to keep our fingers and toes. we'll have great advice on ways to stay safe when you're taking on projects in your home. >> all right. then our bow to wow segment. taking the shelter dogs who need a bit of a makeeverover. we've cleaned them up. they're so great. they're so cute. natalie and i are in love with a particular dog. >> which one? >> duky? >> you know what my first dog's name was? duky. >> karma. >> it's men to be. >> i know. i know. it's going to be tough. and later, our crack team of power players takes on the big issues of the day of whether your looks matter if you vote for president to its gender more

than others? i'd be surprised about that one. >> and then we're going to help you save a ton of money if you plan on going on vacation this summer. >> we have a lot to get to. how about a check of the weather. all right, we know it's hot today. it's going to be hot again tomorrow throughout much of the country. saturday, risk of strong storms in the upper mississippi river valley. showers making their way to the ohio river valley. mild to the pacific northwest. sunday, sunday, we expect to see more warm weather the northeast. a little cooler showers in the ohio -- lower ohio river valleys. nice in the pacific northwest with the sizzling weather and southwest texas on >> we are trying to see cool spots today is the heat and humidity comes on in. eyes and in mid-to-upper- nineties.

don't forget, you can check your weather time of the day or night on weather on cable or weather.com. and willie. >> two pieces of birthday cake. it's your day. happy birthday from schmuckers. put some jam on it and you've got a winner. harold hessler from lenexa, kansas. proud ww-ii veteran. he still does push-ups. i can't even get out of the chair. every morning, loves his push-ups, stays in great shape and plans to get his driver's license renewed. hope i can get mine renewed.

and aluma seghetti from peoria. i've been to peoria with the ground hogs. peoria, illinois. credits her longevity to independence and being always happy. good disposition. that's a good combination. and mary wheeler. i like that name, from salem, virginia. that's a pretty town. i know that one. one down near roanoke. 100 years old today. big atlanta braves fan baseball and loves the puzzles. lucille -- ♪ you picked a fine time to leave me lucille ♪ lucille french, rockville, maryland down the road, 100 today. loves to travel and has a great, great attitude in life. can't beat an attitude. that makes the difference. mere is millie nelson. i wonder if she's any relation to willie, millie. i don't know. treasure island, florida, 100

years old today. likes to check the stock market. hope she's on the right side of it. strange business. and play scrabble. and finally, a birthday buddy, two buddies, ken and mary meixell. they are from beautiful downtown venice, florida. 75 years they've been married. they love each other very, very much and they love to dance together. that's it. that's all. now, we'll dance together. back to new york. all right, willard. thanks. coming up next, the dos don'ts of staying safe when you try to fix something at home.

♪ our house in the middle of our street ♪ >> this morning on today's home, we're talking about do it yourself safety. you can save a couple of bucks on home improvement project ifs you do them yourself.

but, if you hurt yourself, you'll pay more on medical bills than you would have saved on the first place. lou manferdini is a licensed contract and the host of a syndicated show, "house smart." welcome back. we've done a lot of segments in the past about doing things yourself at home and worried about doing more damage than good. we're usually talking about the wall tore window. now we're talking a about our bodies. >> there's been this explosion in do it yourself. a rebirth of home improvement. i attribute it to the economy. there are some things you need to know, you know, about having the right tools and the right skills and -- go ahead. >> it's ego. people think i'm not going to get hurt. you can handle it. but we have tips right off of the bat. have the proper tools, knowledge, and skills. don't undertake a task if you're tired. there's common sense. in the end of the day, i'll get this done. you're tired. don't drink and do it yourself. don't rush a project and know when to call a professional. >> fine line between doing it yourself and sometimes you get in over your head and you could

hurt yourself, your house, or, you know, you could make things a lot worse. common sense stuff. >> talk safety. start with protecting our eyes. used to be we had to wear the bulky, bulky goggles like these. >> look how nice and stylist safety glasses. >> safety goggles. >> these are all safety glasses. what's nice about this, if you take nothing else away from that, doing any kind of project on your home, you have to put eye protection on. this is the biggest single thing eye protection, no matter what you're doing, gardening, using a saw, no matter what it may be. this is important. >> people don't think about protecting your ears. what kind of level of noise could be a problem for your ears. >> sustained noise level of 85 decibels or more can cause hearing loss. ear protection. you roll them in the fingers like this. you stick them inside your ear. they expand. and when you use something like a circular saw, it feels funny. i wanted to use a saw that was nice and loud. this is quiet.

if i put it next to the microphone, if you're using this thing all day long, or any kind of power tool. >> chainsaw, anything like that. >> this is problematic for you. this is easy. there's a pair -- this is a radio. >> cool. other things you can't see or hear, but particles that get in the air and fibers and things like that that you end up inhaling? >> absolutely. spray paint. you're doing projects. spraying a wicker chair outside. get it like this. there's different levels that allow you the chance to breathe freely. they're comfortable feeling. over your face like this. any kind of fumes isn't getting inhaled, especially if you're someone who suffers from allergies or asthma. >> i've seen you when you do projects, you like gloves. >> leather gloves too. a really good pair of leather gloves, when i was working, building houses, my hands were so rough just from the daily basis, i don't do that much anymore. most people's hands are not full of calluses. you need a good pair of gloves like this to protect yourself

and give you a better grip, working in the gardening, working on the ladder, any kind of power tool. >> you have to protect your hand and your feet. if you're using the power tool in the summer months and some guys do this, they run out there quickly. they're wearing the flip-flops or their sneakers. show me why it's a problem. >> great cordless bill with a sharp bit. all of a sudden, this thing drops. this may be leather but look at the mesh inside. that point is going to dig right in to the tongue of that shoe and going to poke in and it's not going to be nice to take out. flip-flops are wonderful for the summer, but not doing any kind of work. that's your toe. remember the egg, this is your brain, this is your -- yeah. >> right. >> this is not smart. look at this. leather boots, i can drop it. but it may poke a hole but it's not going to go through. >> the steel tip, the steel tip, the leather itself is not going to protect you. it's not going to come off of there. it's a simple thing, use common

sense before you come out. >> a lot of people go to the emergency room with eye injuries. another group go because they fall off ladders. >> 250,000 visited annually in the united states. this stick figure will tell you what the weight rating is and the total height. when you're looking at a stepladder, rule of thumb, the second highest step, you don't go there. this is your maximum work height. so you have three steps. if you cannot reach -- this is a six-footstep ladder. if you can't reach from here, get a taller ladder. and one other thing, don't use the ladder that came with the house. >> good idea. >> thank you. good to see you. have a safe summer as well. back with much more on a thursday morning. but first this, is "today" on nbc.

well the junior senator from florida is becoming a rising star in washington these days. nbc's capitol hill correspondent kelley o'donnell has more. good morning. >> good morning, savannah. is marco rubio is next big thing? in the 2010 campaign season, he was the most talked about candidates. he unseated a sitting governor. he knocked off a congressman to become a senator. while here, he kept mostly a low profile until now. and we got some special behind-the-scenes access. >> leaving the workout by 7:00 a.m. attending daily catholic mass at 8:00. sweat and fate drive marco rubio. >> always been a morning person. >> he just turned 40, a kid by senate standards, less than half of the age of more senior colleagues. >> do you feel a learning curve? >> i do. part of it is finding a voice. >> click on a camera. >> one generational plus, rub

rubio's dad voice can beam across his lap top. >> did you eat something with sugar? daily skype chats with his four children in miami. >> you're in amanda's room. >> staying connected, but most days, 1,000 miles apart. >> i can coach the team but i miss half the games. mother was a bartender, mother a clerk at k-mart. here he became english and spanish, he records a video message for constituents. wife, jeanette, and their kids, made a rare trip to washington, d.c. to see a senate tradition. rubio was the last of the new class to speak from the senate floor. >> a world that still needs america. >> clearly building credibility on foreign policy and build relationships, including some democrats like fellow floridian senator bill nelson? >> do you feel like a mentor to senator rubio? >> not a mentor, a colleague. >> swept into washington on tea

party energy. >> we fully embrace the tea party sentiment. >> rubio keeps the sentiment and refused to join the tea party caucaus. >> i'm always concerned when washington tries to institutionalize something. >> forget 2012, he said, he claims he'll ignore any offers to run for vice president. >> i'm flattered by all of this. i am. >> you ear from florida, one of the fresh faces. don't you expect to be on someone's short list. >> i'm not going to be the vice presidential nominee. >> you wouldn't serve? >> i don't think they'll call. >> there will be plenty of vp buzz for marco rubio because he's becoming more public. he's willing to take on president obama much more aggressively. that's a job qualification for bp. making the first outside florida speech in a couple of weeks. where? in the reagan presidential library? savannah? coming up next, the needy

dogs get a makeover and a chance at a better future. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

the same protection as frontline at half the cost. and, yes, it is time once

again for "from bow to wow" where we take dogs out of the shelter, clean them up, and find them great homes. we have a 100% success rate with this. let's keep it going. jill rapoport is our animal advocate back with a great group of dogs. >> great is an understatement. we have four of the most desirable breeds up for adoption. that's why i tell people, going to the shelter is a win-win. not only do you save a life, but you get a great pet. with summer in full swing in animal care and control in new york city, some of the hottest breeds are sadly sitting in cages, waiting to find a home. like this adorable maltese named sally. she's special because of a special season. >> she had an injury to her rear leg. the best course of action would be to amputate her leg. >> this was not due to cancer which she had a injury and

she'll live a long and beautiful life. dogs on three legs live on three legs. >> she doesn't even know her back leg is missing. >> there you go, girl. >> from a white angel to a black stunner. meet summer, a border collie mix. >> a beautiful girl. and border collies are so smart. >> smart, energetic, she's 1-year-old. an owner surrender. >> great shape, beautiful coat. what i love about her, she wasn't nervous but a little cautious and then she slowly relaxed and just melts in your lap. >> when she gets to a home environment, she gets comfortable, you can see the true her coming out. >> look at the white paws. they were dipped in milk. >> on to a pint sized pure bred yellow puppy with boundless energy. >> 3 months old yellow lab puppy. >> he's a live one. >> he's a live one. a adorable.

>> they got him from a pet store, realized owning a puppy is a lot of work. it goes to show you can find anything from your local shelter. he's really playful. >> and from a pup to a power house of a pooch, a german shepherd named wyatt. >> a pure bred, 3 years old. sweet. i might just have to take this one home with me. >> walks so nice on a leash. he's very obedient. tied up in front of a police precinct. >> he's in great shape. i'm feeling him. no ribs, good body weight, good coat. he's alert and seems to be relatively mellow. >> he is. >> show him what a beautiful boy you are, wyatt? say hello. >> four top-notch breeds hoping for a home. joining us, richard with animal care. good to see you. how's the summer going? oh. >> we are busy. we are full. this is a busy month and august gets busier, so we need people to come in and adopt on us.

>> there are more dogs like these at the shelter. the first one we want to bring out. first, let's look at sally before, and now let's bring sally out after a little makeover, and then here comes natalie with sally. again, this was not a disease this, is an injury. >> it was an injury. they couldn't fix it. the best course of action is to remove her legs. you can see she got the makeover, it took the hair away from her face. she came in matted. they had to groom her down so much. >> she has more energy than all four of them. >> happy disposition. >> under a year old. >> sally, thank you very much. natalie, thank you for being sally out. next we have summer. let's look at what summer looked like at the shelter. now let's bring summer out after. summer is a border collie. these are smart dogs. >> very smart dogs. they're a work dog. a lot of energy. you can see how shiny her coat is. she's in good condition. you can tell by the coat. how shiny it is.

>> sweetheart, too. >> so smart too. >> yeah. >> she is. she is. she really is. >> thank you very much. so that's summer. next we have doogie. he's a puppy. there's doogie at the shelter. and doogie being walked out by savannah guthrie. >> we encourage people, if you want a dog in the shelter, you can find any type of dog in a local shelter. find a cute 3-year-old pure bred lab puppy. >> 3-month-old. >> a lot of energy. she needs a lot of training. so you have to do your homework and be able to devote the time to train that -- >> watch the leg. >> yeah. >> doogie has made the mark on the plaza a few occasions. but a very cute dog. >> he's a kissy. >> really cute. >> not apparently. >> maybe in a past life. let us thank you, savannah.

we appreciate that. finally we have richard engle who's going to walk out wyatt. there's what wyatt looked like in the shelter. >> richard is -- richard? wyatt is a beautiful german shepherd. wyatt was tied to the front of a police station. it's illegal to abandon an animal. keep that in mind, you have to give up the pay and bring it to your local shelter. maybe they thought he was going to be a good police dog and that's why they did it. it is illegal. this dog is gentle. >> 2 or 3 years old? >> 3 years old. great disposition. walks well on leash. >> so calm, well trained. >> all the rest come on out. thank you very much. lots more dogs available at the shelter. we're back. tomorrow -- cee lo green, the lady killer. live. >> you can't miss it! >> the toyota summer concert

series only on "today" on nbc. >> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. it is a mystery as to what caused a dozen people to become sick at the bottle mcdonald house downtown. nine adults and three children all reported becoming sick about 8:30 wednesday night at the 600 block of west lexington street. investigators say they at found no evidence of carbon monoxide and don't believe food poisoning to be to blame. back in a minute with a check on

>> now let's look to the forecast with ava marie.

>> these are the temperatures we are expecting this afternoon. unbelievably hot and humid. upper 90s across the entire state, as well as along the shore and in the mountains. those are usually the spots that stay in little cooler. not the case today. humidity, unbelievably hot. could be dangerous into the afternoon. early next week we get a better. >> we will have another weather update at 9:25.